THE GRAND BET

Chapter 9: Winds Of Change

After what happened at the party, Jiang Cheng stayed away from Lan Xichen completely. If Xichen was going up, he would pass below. If Xichen were taking the stairs, Jiang Cheng believed he could fly.

 Wei Ying became somewhat tamed. He did not indulge in mischievous activities or pull pranks to punish Lan Wangji and that baffled everyone else. But they were not the only ones that changed. Lan Xichen did limit the amount of time he spent with the dance student, and Wangji made efforts to be understanding of Wei Ying's nature. 

The problem here is that Wei Ying was not all over the place acting crazy and beaming with laughter. The omega would fake a smile or two and claim he was okay when everyone saw that he wasn't. 

***

The lotuses treated themselves to a nice barbeque party on a Saturday. Just their clique, some drinks and a whole lot of meat.

 There was an odd ten-second period when the twin jades showed up. "I invited them," Jiang Yanli raised her hand and pulled out seats for them. They would have to get used to this if they were going to be part of the family.

Wei Ying did not complain, he simply nodded and took a seat by Huaisang. When the second jade approached him, Huaisang decided to give them some privacy. 

"Wei Ying, how are you?" Wangji said. 

"I couldn't be better," Wei Ying had a red cup in hand, running a finger lazily over the mouth as he watched the rest. Of what use would it be to look at Lan Wangji if it will remind him that he messed up again?

 "I want a do-over of our first date," Lan Wangji went straight to the point. 

Wei Ying inclined his head in awe but stayed humble. "No, I can't do a second date, I have assignments to complete," he said. Judging by his twitchy lashes and constant swallows, Wangji deduced that the omega was tense. 

Wangji sits up and does something Wei Ying did not anticipate. He turns to the crowd and calls out loud, "Jiang Cheng, have you submitted your assignment?"  Sure enough, Jiang Cheng arched a brow at him, responding bluntly,  "Assignment...what assignment?" 

"Yes Wei Ying, what assignment?" Wangji cornered the wild one. Wei Ying could have told a better lie to save himself but the pressure got to him and he went mum.

"I will not force you to sit in a boring empty room or act improperly. I will go wherever you decide, do whatever you want," Lan Wangji said. 

Now, Wei Ying is motivated to look at the jade but his eyes are teary and he shoots up instantly. "I don't want to go on another dumb date with you, can't you just understand that?!" 

All heads turned at that outburst. Wei Ying's eyes were pink and glossy with tears. His breath was loud and his face reddened. Yanli tries to talk to him but he walks briskly in another direction. Lan Wangji pursed his mouth, pretty much bummed out at the outcome. To top it off Jiang Cheng wanted to attack him. 

"Wangji, are you alright?" Lan Xichen asked after Wen Qing came to his rescue. They wanted to leave but Yanli insisted that they stay a while longer. "I will have a word with him right now. So don't go anywhere," she said. 

**

No one noticed Nie Huaisang had been gone too long. He pranced about the hallway, looking for safe spots to hide his security cameras. He slipped into his friend's rooms, setting up his devices without consent. His latest creation was booming thanks to live feeds and he figured a little more might not hurt. 

  He stepped into the kitchen, whistling like a bird when out of nowhere, a figure startled him. It was Wei Ying, sitting at the kitchen counter with a towel over his head. Naturally, the shaker was drawn to him.